


The Height of the Sky

by DawnOfTomorrow



Series: Blue [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Forgiveness, Lilia is a sea witch, M/M, Meeting the Family, Misunderstandings, Mostly Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pining, Planning a future, Unreliable Narrator, Victor is a merman, Yuuri is a cecealia, making amends, mermaid au, time jumps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 11,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28723452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnOfTomorrow/pseuds/DawnOfTomorrow
Summary: A year has passed since Yuuri left after Victor broke his heart - he's ready to come back, as long as he never has to see the merman again.Should be easy - they don't exactly share a common territory.Naturally, he's wrong, but he's never been happier about that - happy endings come in all sorts of forms.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri & Victor Nikiforov, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Lilia Baranovskaya & Yakov Feltsman
Series: Blue [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105079
Comments: 11
Kudos: 69





	1. Chapter 1

Yuuri gulped as he approached the entrance of what used to be his home – a nicely-sized cave he’d made his own after his teacher Minako had pointed it out to him as empty. He hadn’t exactly furnished it much, but it had still been home – his first home after moving away from his parents.

That was all in the past though – he’d abandoned it a little over a year ago, and he was well-aware that it had likely been snatched up by another sea denizen – he couldn’t exactly expect it to still be as he left it.

He cautiously swam closer, a little surprised when he didn’t see or hear anything that indicated a resident at a glance. It was fairly early in the morning, so he’d have expected whoever had taken it up to be home. His senses were incredibly acute under water – not on land, his mind pointed out bitterly – and yet he heard nothing.

He was just working up the courage to maybe enter or at least to call out, when a light swooshing sound caught his attention – someone was approaching from behind. He panicked for a moment before swimming up and around another rock that he knew was wide enough to hide him.

Yuuri felt a little foolish as he hid – he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Whoever it was that now lived in his cave probably wouldn’t have minded him checking on it – he could have explained what he was doing.

Unfortunately, swimming there again, he couldn’t help but feel everything he’d fled from well up again – the despair, the confusion, the heartbreak that he’d felt the last time he’d been there. His fingers tightened on the rock and he winced, before being distracted by the other person coming into view.

He nearly choked on his own tongue.

He recognised him immediately – how could he not?

Victor. The stunningly beautiful merman that Yuuri had secretly fallen in love with when he’d seen him dance near the sea witch Lilia’s cave several years ago. He hadn’t learned his name back then – all he’d ever seen was the incomparable grace and beauty the merman had danced with.

He’d have stayed there forever, watching him, had it not been for Minako calling him away.

He’d gone reluctantly, eager to see the beautiful creature again sometime… and he had. Just… just not the way he’d wanted to.

Bile rose in his throat when he remembered Victor’s deception, his lies. The other man had all but mocked his own feelings with that confession that his ‘human friend’ had made – Yuuri could have easily lived with being rejected. Really, he’d have expected it even, he was nothing special.

But to go to such lengths… he’d felt _horrible_ when the human he’d grown so close to had confessed and he’d turned him down assuming he meant it. The worst thing had been that he’d considered it… he had been developing feelings for the other man too, after listening to him sing so long, overshadowed only by what he felt for the mysterious merman he’d seen before.

He’d actually thought about forgetting about him and accepting Victor’s confession, except… except Victor had jumped from the very cliff Yuuri had saved him on, and he’d transformed… right into the merman Yuuri had fallen for.

And now, more than a YEAR later, he apparently still wasn’t rid of his nightmare, because that same man was there, swimming into his cave.

As if he lived there.

Which… he probably did.

Yuuri laughed hollowly – why in the WORLD had Victor chosen his of all caves? As far as he knew, mermaids didn’t even live in caves, preferring instead colonies that lived on the sea floor, near kelp forests and such. He certainly knew of several colonies where that was the case. Apparently, Victor had chosen a cave though – his cave.

He didn’t understand why – it was neither the biggest nor the nicest around, and it hadn’t been the only empty one after Yuuri had left either.

He sighed.

The only way to find out would be to ask… and he wasn’t about to do that.

Checking carefully, he saw that Victor hadn’t come back out – good. That meant it was probably safe to leave.

He inched out from behind his rock, keeping his eyes on the doorway until it was safe to turn around and swim away.

“Yuuri?” A soft voice called from behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Victor felt a little faint as he stared at the unexpected form before him. He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or not – it had been so long since he’d seen the cecealia, he couldn’t be sure if he’d finally gone mad or if Yuuri was really there.

The way the other froze mid-motion certainly suggested the latter not the former – but then, why was he suddenly back? It had been a year, give or take, since Yuuri had left… and Victor had all but given up hope to see him again.

He swam a bit closer to Yuuri’s still-turned back.

“Yuuri, why are you…” He began, pausing when Yuuri turned.

His expression was inscrutable, but nothing could have quelled the joy he felt at seeing his beloved again.

“I didn’t know my cave was… occupied. I’m sorry for disturbing you.” The other said formally before turning again.

Victor understood immediately – Yuuri DIDN’T understand. And he wanted to… leave.

No.

He wouldn’t allow it, not again.

Yuuri was faster than him, but Victor was more motivated – before the cecealia could get more than a few metres between them, Victor had lunged forwards and wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s middle, a little above where his hips morphed into those grey tentacles.

He held on for dear life, even when Yuuri squawked and lost his balance, sinking towards the ocean floor – Victor was a little surprised the tentacles didn’t hit him, but then that was probably just Yuuri trying not to hurt him.

He tightened his grip.

“Victor! Let me go!” Yuuri demanded.

“No! Not unless you promise to stay and hear me out!” He bit back – Yuuri froze completely under his hold.

He felt the other taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly.

Far more calmly than he’d expected, Yuuri replied. “Fine. I’ll stay and listen. Please let me go.”

Embarrassed now, he pulled back and put an appropriate amount of distance between them. They stared at each other for a few long moments, before Victor remembered his manners.

“Should we go inside? I’m sure you’re eager to be home again.”

Yuuri didn’t reply, but gave a small nod and headed back towards his home – Victor followed, relieved that he’d gotten the other to agree to talk.

It was a start.


	3. Chapter 3

Yuuri tried to keep a straight face as he entered his former home – Victor, apparently, had spent considerable time and effort to decorate it.

Considerable with a capital C.

It was tasteful and honestly quite nice – there were plenty of new shelves near the top of the walls, some of the more jagged rocks had been worn down, the floor evened out, and even the little alcove his bed ahd been in had apparently been worked on.

The bed had been replaced with a bigger one filled with pillows of all shapes and sizes.

His kitchen was now much bigger, with more work space and apparently all sorts of tools and utensils – not many of them were particularly useful to his vegetarian diet, but that was fine.

There were pictures on some walls, drawn on with bright red and orange dyes, that made it look a little like a sunset above the water... Yuuri liked it, surprisingly.

Even the odd chains of... things hanging around looked nice. They were like beads Victor wore in his hair and around his wrists on little bracelets – hand carved from seashells no doubt.

He resisted the urge to touch.

“You wanted to talk.” He surprised himself by saying.

“Yes. I wanted to talk to you back then, but you wouldn’t listen.” Victor replied, casually draping himself onto the bed.

Yuri awkwardly hovered in the middle of the room.

“There was nothing you could have said to me.” He reflexively answered.

Victor scoffed. “Oh there was PLENTY. Like how I came to be a human anyway. How the spell... malfunctioned. All that. But you... You just decided you knew what was going on and ran away, God knows where.”

“The Indian Ocean.” Yuuri distractedly answered, not even thinking. “I went to stay with Phichit.”

The merman gaped at him.

“The... You... No, okay that’s fine. So you spent a year in a whole other OCEAN because you were mad at me. I understand. That’s... well it’s maybe a bit dramatic but fair enough. Why did you come back?”

Yuuri shrugged half-heartedly. “I missed my family. And... And Phichit said I had to go back at some point. I realised he was right.”

Victor nodded slowly. “And so you came to see... me?”

He vigorously shook his head. “No! NO. I had no idea you’d be at my cave. Well, your cave now I guess.”

He shrugged, uncomfortable with the whole situation. Victor frowned at that.

“You don’t want it back?”

“Well I expected it to be taken by someone. I just came to check in case it was still empty.”

For some reason, a nearly blinding smile spread over the merman’s gorgeous features. It fully took away Yuuri’s breath for a second – he’d forgotten how… beautiful the other was. A deceptive sliver of want coiled through him and he did his best to smother it.

“But Yuuri! That’s the reason I stayed! For when you’d come back!”

He gaped at the other man. He… what?

“Look, I even had a friend paint the wall because you said you like the sun!” Victor pointed at the colourful section of wall he’d admired before.

“And… everything else?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve changed almost everything here…” He gestured at the room.

Victor shrugged. “Well, a little bit out of necessity, but mostly because it was all so… barren. I don’t know how you lived here.”

He crossed his arms defensively. “Yes, well, we can’t all live in huge luxurious communities in a kelp forest, can we?”

The merman gave him a curious look. “You know where I used to live?”

“I know where mermaids usually live, yeah.”

“Fair enough. I know almost nothing about cecealias, so I just got things I thought you might enjoy. The kitchen was for me, mostly.”

Victor did NOT strike him as the type to particularly prepare his meals, but he refrained from saying as much.

“Do you... Like it?” Victor asked, his voice oddly hesitant.

Yuuri looked around again and shrugged – he did, but what did it matter, really? Instead of answering, he drew his tentacles tighter around himself.

“I should leave.” He blurted out – only to freeze when he saw the frantically desp erate expression on Victor’s face.


	4. Chapter 4

“No!” He yelled. “You can’t leave yet! I... We haven’t talked. And besides, this is your home.”

Yuuri visibly shifted, his eyes darting to the door a few times. Victor tensed up as well, ready to chase Yuuri down again if necessary.

“Fine. What else is there to say then?”

He gulped. Even with a year to prepare he didn’t feel ready.

“How about... How I ended up human?”

Yuuri twitched.

“It was so I could meet you. I asked my friend Lilia to help me.” He explained when Yuuri stayed quiet. “She gave me a curse and then I went to the island.”

“Because of me, right?” Yuuri asked – Victor could feel himself blushing deeply – he hadn’t expected Yuuri to know, although it was likely pretty obvious.

“W-Well, yes. I tried to think about how to draw your attention, so I started singing.”

“Did you know cecealias have good hearing?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. I just knew they liked human more than mermaids, so...”

Yuuri made an odd hissing sound. “Yes, can you blame us? I’m pretty sure a _human_ wouldn’t have done what you did just to hurt me.”

The world seemed to freeze around him as he tried to process that.

He felt a little like Yuuri’s words echoed through the cave, and he waited in mute horror as some of the things Yuuri had said before he’d left re-ordered themselves into something new, something horrible.

“Y-You think I did that to HURT YOU?” Victor asked, his voice incredibly shrill. He didn’t care.

Yuuri scoffed. “Why else?”

“Y-You really think that I would risk what I thought to be DEATH in order to PRANK YOU?”

He knew his voice was getting louder with each word, but he couldn’t help it. Yuuri’s expression melted from trepidation and suspicion into one of confusion.

“Uh... Death?”

“Yes!! Don’t you remember how I said I was scared of the water? Lilia told me that I would DIE if I went in the ocean again after growing legs!” He snapped.

Yuuri snorted, before apparently realising he was serious.

“It... what? Why would she do that? Even I know magic doesn’t work like that.” Yuuri said.

Victor gaped at him. “But you’re not even a sea witch.”

“Well no but my mother’s friend, my dance teacher is. So I grew up learning about that stuff.”

“W-Well I didn’t! And when Lilia said that, I believed her!” Victor snapped, suddenly quite embarrassed. How had he been supposed to know?

“If not to mock me, then why DID you?” Yuuri asked, relaxing for the first time in a bit.

Victor helplessly shrugged, his fingers reaching to untangle his braid and redo it – a nervous habit.

“Well, I assumed you hated mermaids. And I wanted to get to know you. So I thought as a human, I had a chance.”

“A chance?” Yuuri echoed.

“Yes. I... When I told you that I was in love with you on the beach, I was serious. I had been since before I even knew your name. I just...” He trailed off, unable to continue when he saw how oddly pale Yuuri went. His grey colouring wasn’t exactly very colourful in the first place, but he went positively _white_ at Victor’s words.

“I. You. What.” Yuuri croaked.

Victor straightened up a little – was it really that hard to believe? That was a bit rude.

“I said I-” Before he could finish, Yuuri held up a finger to silence him, and his mouth shut almost automatically.

Yuuri spun around – but instead of swimming off as Victor had feared, he only crouched down a little, a few of his tentacles coming up to run through his hair, while he panted.

It was obvious something was going on, but he didn’t know what to say or do – and he was pretty sure if he reached out, Yuuri would just bolt for real.

So instead... he waited.


	5. Chapter 5

It took Yuuri quite a bit of time to reconcile what he’d heard. He didn’t even want to believe it – but Victor had no reason to lie, not to mention he wasn’t acting like someone who was lying either.

Which was a problem because if he WASN’T lying, then Yuuri had freaked out over nothing, fleeing like a complete drama queen, and had made a fool of himself too many times to count.

He drew another shuddering breath.

He needed more details.

Turning back, he ignored the concerned and curious expression on Victor’s beautiful face.

“How did you know who I was?”

Victor visibly gulped. “I saw you once. Near Lilia’s cave when I was just visiting. You... You were dancing. Not like mermaids do. But... It was absolutely beautiful. I really wanted to meet you and so I decided to... Well, you know what I did.”

Yuuri gaped at the merman, whose tail was nervously flicking in the water.

“Y-You saw me dance?”

“Yes! It was incredible! I’d never seen anything like it! You were so graceful and elegant, and it looked a bit like as if you were playing music with your body! I wanted to approach you, but then I remembered that cecealias hate my kind, so...”

Victor’s voice was incredibly excited as he praised Yuuri’s dancing – it genuinely sounded like he meant it.

He couldn’t even BEGIN to acknowledge the irony there.

“So you... Actually had feelings for me. And thought I’d be more interested in you as a human.” He summarised.

Victor nodded patiently.

“Except I turned you down.” Yuuri said bluntly. He didn’t miss the way Victor’s entire body flinched - the man acknowledged his words with a shrug, and Yuuri decided to continue. “I turned you down because I had feelings for someone else.”

“Yes, a _merman of all things_.” Victor spat bitterly – Yuuri had no trouble at all reading Victor’s anger about that – and he had to fight an ironic laugh.

“Yes. I already… well that happened before I ever met you in your human form.”

The anger seemed to drain out of Victor at that. “I know. I even know that I had no right to be mad about it. I-I guess it’s _good_ that you don’t just hate all merpeople, but…” He waved his hand, his bracelets clinking softly in the water.

Yuuri sighed, wondering whether it was even worth telling Victor – so much time had passed, would the other man even care? Would he think Yuuri was even dumber than he probably already did? Almost definitely.

He ran a hand through his hair and decided to hell with it all.

“The merman I fell in love with… It was because he was dancing too. Different from. It… was actually the exact same thing that happened to you. I happened to see him. He did things in the water I couldn’t ever hope to manage – all these spirals and loops and flips… he was incredible.” Yuuri allowed himself to gush for a bit.

He’d firmly banned all thoughts of Victor – human or merman – from his mind for the past year. His admiration for the other man’s dancing hadn’t faded for a second, though, if he was honest. It was what he thought of Victor’s personality that had been the issue… and he’d been wrong, so very wrong. That part he shelved for the time being – he’d have time to panic about that later.

Victor looked… uncomfortable.

Yuuri cleared his throat. “I… I’d never seen him before or anything, although I knew I was near a mermaid pod. He was just practicing on his own, using some of the currents and the clams for music.” The clams in question rhythmically moved in the water, creating complex but repetitive rhythms. Yuuri knew them well, even if he usually danced without them.

Victor’s expression turned to a frown. “Near the pod...? The red clams?”

Yuuri nodded. “I honestly never really thought I had any chance with someone as stunning as him, but I couldn’t exactly help it. I… well, to be honest, I thought about it. Forgetting all about him and just… accepting the confession of the human singer.” He said, half-turning away from Victor. This part was the one that REALLY embarrassed him.

“Y-You were interested in me?” Victor asked softly.

“I don’t know. I guess I could have been. I… I really loved your singing. And you were so kind, and funny… I just also couldn’t forget…”

“The merman.” Victor snapped. He was a bit all over the place with his emotions it seemed, but then Yuuri could relate all too damn well.

“Yes.”

Victor flicked his tail and swam backwards a little. “And so, when you realised I wasn’t who I said I was…”

“I was hurt. Confused. Angry.”

The merman sighed softly, his fingers twisting the end of his braid.

“I… I understand. I thought it was just because I lied to you. I didn’t know you thought I was trying to… hurt you on purpose.”

Yuuri sighed deeply. He was about to explain that part when Victor frowned.

“That… why DID you think that?” He asked – Yuuri’s heart skipped a beat.

“W-Well, that merman I had feelings for, I uh…” he trailed off, unsure how to explain that Victor WAS that person. He felt like an idiot for not having led with that.

To his surprise, Victor chuckled softly. “The red clams, you said? I… I dance there somewhere. I guess it was bad luck it wasn’t _me_ that you saw there, hm? This whole thing would have gone differently if you… if you’d fallen for _me_.”

He could hardly credit the raw emotion in Victor’s voice. It sounded like longing – was the merman still upset even after so much time had passed?

Yuuri gulped.

“About that…”

Victor waved him off.

What in the world…?


	6. Chapter 6

Of course Victor recognised Yuuri’s clumsy attempts to tell him about the merman in question. He wasn’t stupid – and he definitely didn’t want to hear about whoever it was. He already couldn’t help but compare himself. Was the other one’s hair longer? Shinier? Their fin a brighter colour? Any sort would look great next to Yuuri’s own tentacles and their shades of grey, but he could see how Yuuri might prefer something like Georgi’s bright blue and purple, or even Mila’s bright red scales – though it was a mer _man_ Yuuri had said he liked.

For all his curiosity, the last thing Victor needed was for Yuuri to gush about him the way he’d done when he’d described the other one’s dance.

As far as he knew NOBODY in his pod was better at loops and that stuff than him. Nobody.

Yuuri didn’t seem like he was about to let it go though.

“You don’t want to know who it is?” For some reason the cecealia looked almost… amused? No, that couldn’t be right.

Victor had to be misreading things – in all fairness, he’d been going through so much in the last half hour, he couldn’t really be blamed, he thought.

“Does it matter? Unless…” A lump formed in his throat. “Did you… want me to introduce you? I know almost everyone, so I can probably-” He shut up when Yuuri quite literally face-palmed, the ends of his tentacles curling and uncurling in an almost hypnotic rhythm.

“Victor… I think it matters. So will you just hear me out?”

Unable to refuse the direct request, he steeled himself for whatever name Yuuri was about to utter – really, as long as it wasn’t someone he was close to, it would be fine.

Right…?

Yuuri looked up, his eyes practically pinning Victor in place. He thought he was seeing things until he realised that Yuuri had come quite a bit closer, and his breath hitched as well.

“Victor… the merman I fell in love with was YOU. The reason I was so upset, so hurt was because I thought you KNEW and you did all that just… to trick me. To make fun of me for wanting someone so far out of my league.”

He was only faintly aware of the black spots dancing around his vision before the whole world blurred and he passed out cold.


	7. Chapter 7

Yuuri shrieked in shock when Victor’s eyes fluttered shut and his whole body went limp. He caught him before he would have collided with the floor or the nearby shelf and awkwardly moved him to the bed – Victor’s singular tail made him a fair bit taller than Yuuri’s tentacles did, and he was worried about knocking something over.

He gently put Victor down on the pillows, checking him over as best as he could – Victor SEEMED fine, but then he knew very little about merbiology.

Before he could decide whether or not to go out and get help though, the question was rendered moot by someone approaching – he registered the sound only moments before a yellow blur swam in.

Yuuri shot around and realised they were both equally frozen – him, and the gold-coloured merman he’d only seen once before… when he had been trying to drag Victor into the ocean.

A moment later, the merman in question _howled_ at an ear-splitting volume, skittering backwards and pointing at him.

“YOU! Why are you HERE!” He screamed, before his eyes took in Victor behind him, and his expression went from startled to downright ferocious. “Get AWAY from him, asshole!” The merman snarled, and Yuuri almost did, before he realised that, unlike last time, he had nothing to fear from the other.

He drew himself to his full height and spread his tentacles wider, revealing their full length and number – he could be intimidating too, thank you very much.

“Who are _you_?” He snapped at the intruder, who looked more than a bit shocked, frankly.

“I… I’m the… I’m Victor’s friend! And you? You gave up your right to come here when you fled like a coward.”

That stung. Yuuri swam a little closer, looming over the golden merman.

“Victor invited me in.”

“That’s why he’s unconscious now? Because he _wanted_ you here?”

A fair point, Yuuri had to admit.

“He passed out. He’s fine though.” He said, his own anger fading – it didn’t look like he was a threat to Victor… probably.

“Get out of my way squid, so I can actually check.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I’ve known Victor since I was BORN and unlike you I actually KNOW a thing or two about merpeople.”

He studied the intruder for another moment before pulling back just enough to let him past and to Victor. The smaller merman wasted no time in doing so, immediately examining the passed-out merman. Whatever he found, he sighed in apparent relief.

“Seems he really is just passed out. He’ll wake up in a bit. What are you doing here though?”


	8. Chapter 8

When Victor woke up, he expected to be alone in his bed – and why not, after the strange dream he’d had.

Then he realised it HADN’T been a dream – it had been real.

Which explained the next thing he noticed – voices, nearby. Familiar voices, actually.

Yuuri and… Yuri.

Victor shot up with a curse, immediately swimming towards the voices in question, hoping to prevent whatever disaster would no doubt come of the volatile little twerp antagonising the cecealia. He didn’t doubt for a moment that Yuuri could hold his own in a fight – and that Yuri would be willing to give him one at that.

He froze in the doorway when he realised that the two of them were just… talking. Yuuri was sitting on a nearby flat rock, Yuri was swimming in front of him, gesturing as he spoke about something or other.

Neither looked like they were about to rip the other’s head off.

Which… was actually weirder than if they had been, Victor realised.

“Oy, old man! Finally awake again?” Yuri snapped, having evidently spotted him. Yuuri shot around too, concern immediately obvious on his face.

Victor preened under it for a moment before he remembered that he had no clue what was going on.

“Yuri? Why are you here? And… and what is going on?”

“What’s going ON is that I came to visit and found this damn squid here looming over your passed out body and thought he KILLED you. That’s what’s going on.” Yuri snarled.

Victor ignored him, looking over Yuuri. He looked unharmed – in fact, he looked a bit bashful, actually.

“You need to be nicer to my guests, Yura.” He said to the other merman before cautiously approaching Yuuri.

“Y-You didn’t leave?” He asked, a little timid. Yuuri had wanted to before. Did he… not anymore? His heart skipped a beat when Yuuri smiled softly.

“I had to make sure you were okay. Are you?”

He nodded.

“HEY YOU TWO!” Yuri snapped at them both, startling them from whatever odd mood had washed over them this time. Victor flushed in embarrassment – he’d practically forgotten Yuri was even there.

“What is it, Yura?” He asked impatiently. No doubt the twerp wanted something – he almost always did.

“Be gross on your own time. Just so you know, I’ve caught him up on how _disgusting_ you’ve been over the last year.”

At that, Victor’s head snapped around and his eyes narrowed. Yuri had done… what?

Sure, he’d spent the year waiting for Yuuri to come back, decorating his cave in a way he hoped the other would like, and yes he had turned any and all suitors down that came to him on the off-chance Yuuri might return, but…

“What do you mean?” He asked, hoping feigning ignorance would work.

“Oh, just about how you refused to come back to the pod and basically forfeited your title. Oh, and the crisis you would have EVERY TIME something in that stupid cave didn’t go as planned. Not to mention all the gushing and ‘Yuuri this, Yuuri that’.” The golden merman said with a smug tone that proved he knew EXACTLY what he’d done… and he’d done it deliberately.

Victor drew himself up to his full height. “Yura…” He began, slowly inching closer to the other, who looked rather unimpressed.

A hand gently encircled his wrist, drawing him from his thoughts.

Yuuri. The cecealia was smiling… smiling?

Surely, he wanted nothing more than to get away from Victor now that he knew what a pathetic stalker he was?

“It’s fine.” Yuuri said in a soft voice that soothed the turmoil raging in Victor’s mind considerably.

“This is just too gross. I’m outta here.” Yuri snapped, but Victor didn’t turn around.

“There are other words than gross, Yura.” He lectured, his eyes never straying from Yuuri.

Instead of a verbal response, the young merman made a loud retching noise before swimming off with a no-doubt dramatic flail of his tail – dramatic exits were one of his favourite moves, Victor knew.

He let himself sink a little lower, so he was at eye-height with Yuuri, who still hadn’t released his wrist.

“Do you remember what I told you before you… passed out?” Yuuri tentatively asked after a few moments.

For several seconds, Victor DIDN’T – and then it came rushing back, those words that had knocked him out in the first place.

The merman Yuuri had fallen for was… him.

Him.

Yuuri had rejected him because of his feelings for… him.

The last piece slotted into place – why Yuuri had thought it was a prank of all the ridiculous things he could have thought.

He could even see how the other man had reached that conclusion, if he allowed himself to think about it for a moment.

He gulped.

“Yes.” Was all he could say.

He felt like he was back on land, the sun prickling on his skin, his heart racing at an erratic pace.

Except this time... This time it was good.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Yuuri sighed softly, his lashes fluttering shut. Victor couldn’t help but draw even closer, until he could make out every faint mark on Yuuri’s skin.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you in the first place.” He half-whispered, hesitant to destroy the silence between them.

Yuuri shook his head. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to... to explain. I shouldn’t have run and hidden for so long.”

Victor thought about it for a second, before throwing caution into the wind and reaching out, to take Yuuri’s hand.

The cecealia watched with obvious interest as he linked their fingers together.

“But... You’re back now, fight?”

“Yes. But a year is a long time.”

Victor pulled his hand back as if burned. Had... Had Yuuri changed his mind? Had his feelings faded? Had he met someone else?


	9. Chapter 9

“Have you... Are you with someone now?” Yuuri asked, praying he wasn’t blushing.

Victor’s sudden retreat had surprised him – the other man looked almost guilty. Did he have someone? Had Yuuri just barged in on his life with someone else.

“Me? Am I... Yuuuuri! I thought you were about to tell me YOU had met someone else!” Victor moaned, sinking towards the seafloor a little.

Yuuri gaped.

Him moving on? He wasn’t that lucky. Though, as it turned out, that might not be the worst thing after all. If Victor was still interested that was.

“N-No. There were some... No, it’s not important. I’m single.” He said, quickly casting out a few drunk encounters he’d had over the year. Phichit’s family made some kind of fermented algae juice that, as it turned out, was NOT good for his judgement... But that didn’t matter now.

“Oh. And are you, uh, interested? In me? Being with me?” Victor asked, his expression so sincere that Yuuri suddenly got the desperate urge to kiss him.

He wrestled the feeling into submission.

“I-It’s been a long day. That... Can we maybe have this conversation tomorrow?”

Victor seemed to only just notice that it was getting past noon – Yuuri was getting hungry, and he knew his family would be worried if he took much longer.

The merman looked quite... crushed.

Biting his lip, Yuuri reached out and gently ran a hand over Victor’s hair, the way he’d wanted to do for a long time. It was soft under his fingers.

“I’m not saying no. I’m just... tired from the journey, hungry, and my family expects me. I could... come back tomorrow?”

At that, Victor brightened considerably.

“Yes! Please!”

He could hardly credit how excited the merman seemed to be – he was still mulling it over when he reached his parent’s caves some fifteen minutes away.

His mother was hovering near the door – clearly looking for him. He wasted no time throwing himself into her arms, ignoring her mumbled greetings and just enjoying the hug for a minute.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Don't you worry Yuu-chan! Go in, say hello to your father!”

His mother gave him a gentle push with two of her dark yellow tentacles – they were almost the colour of sand, just a little darker. He got his colouring more from his father, whose own tentacles were such a dark blue they often looked black.

Yuuri nodded and swam further in. His father wasn’t hard to find – he was in his workshop, working on whatever piece of wood was his latest piece. He made all sorts of baskets, some furniture even sometimes. He was fully absorbed in his work, so Yuuri had to clear his throat twice to get his attention.

His dad shot around, tentacles dropping the five tools he’d been working with, in shock.

“I’m home, dad!” Yuuri said, a little choked up – and almost immediately, he found himself wrapped in another hug, this time much firmer.

“Welcome back son.”


	10. Chapter 10

If Victor still had legs, he’d be wearing a groove into the floor of the cave, he was pretty sure.

As it was, he was just aimlessly zooming back and forth in Yuuri’s home, adjust g this or that, everything he could do to hopefully make it seem more appealing to the cecealia. He’d given himself the same treatment, working on his hair, his skin, his jewellery, and even his tail.

He looked his absolute best – as one ought to do when one was waiting for a lover.

They’d not agreed on a time, but Victor had been up from sunrise, fidgeting.

When he could literally find nothing else to sort out, he decided he had to stop – and swam outside, to sit on the flat rock Yuuri had occupied the day before.

Before he could change his mind, he’d drawn a deep breath and started singing.

He didn’t do it often – hadn’t done it much at all since Yuuri had left actually. His voice sounded differently to himself underwater – he knew it carried just as far, but it sounded more mysterious – at least he thought so.

He paid no mind to what he was singing, simply let his feelings guide his voice into whatever kind of song it wanted.

The result was, he had to admit, a hauntingly beautiful love song. He was a little worried he was too obvious with his feelings, that he might spook Yuuri, but...

More than that, he wanted to shout it all the way back to the cursed island he’d introduced himself to Yuuri on.

Their first encounter had gone better than he could have hoped... And he expected even more from the second.

A slight bit of movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention, and familiar grey tentacles peeked out from behind a coral.

He grinned and trailed his song off to silence.

Yuuri peeked out behind the coral a moment later.

“You didn’t have to stop.” He said softly.

Victor shrugged. “I was waiting for you.”

“I-Is that why you sang? To call out to me?”

“We hadn’t agreed a time...” He suddenly felt a bit foolish for what he was saying, actually.

Yuuri just smiled. “So you sang to call me over?”

Well... Sort of. He decided not to reply and instead gracefully swam over to the entrance to the cave. Yuuri followed.

To his disappointment, the other didn’t do much as glance at the now even prettier cave – his warm eyes stayed locked onto him as he settled on the bed.

Yuuri sat on the floor in front of him, tentacles curled and tucked in in a way that made it look a little like he was a human wearing a skirt.

He decided against saying so.

“Are you ready to talk now?” Victor asked – he was too embarrassed to ask what he really wanted to know. ‘Do you still want me?’ was too desperate, and ‘Do I still have a chance?’ too dramatic, even for him.

Yuuri nodded and shifted a little.

“I... About what we were talking about yesterday. I... I do still have feelings for you. Do... you?” the cecealia asked quite bashfully.

Victor wanted to scream in joy. “Yes! My feelings haven’t changed in the least!”

“A-Are you sure? A year is a long time...”

Victor shook his head. “No... Didn’t Yuri tell you yesterday? About me?”

To his surprise, the Yuuri before him chuckled. “I know he said so but really we just talked about dancing for the most part. It... The things he said, I assumed he was kidding?”

Victor cleared his throat, not looking at the other.

When he did again, he found that Yuuri had noiselessly swam closer, and was only inches from his face now.

He gasped softly.

“He wasn’t kidding.” He finally blurted out. “It... I’ve been staying here hoping you’d come back. That I could explain, maybe try seducing you again without the lies. I kept the cave so you’d have a place to come back to.”

Yuuri made a faint noise of disagreement and leaned back a bit. “Well the whole explanation thing is moot now. A-About the cave... You’ve really taken good care of it. You should be the one to live in it. I can’t take it from you.”

He scoffed. “Don’t be silly. I only did that hoping that when you’d come back you would WANT to stay.”

To his surprise, Yuuri reached out and traced gentle fingertips over his cheek. He leaned into the touch, not used to it but enjoying it nevertheless.

“You know... I spent a whole year trying to hate you for hurting me.” Yuuri confessed – Victor flinched. It wasn’t unreasonable, but... “It never worked. I just... I missed you. I missed my friend from the island, his singing... The dancing of the stunning merman I’d seen... I felt like an idiot.”

Oh.

_OH._

Victor snatched up Yuuri’s hand and pressed it flat to his chest.

“Can you feel that? My heart hasn’t stopped racing since I saw you in front of the cave yesterday.”

“I really had you pegged all wrong.” Yuuri said, frowning. “Say, Victor, there is something I wanted to ask you about.”

“Mh?” The pressure of the hand on his chest increased a little.

“When you jumped off the cliff, you thought it would... kill you?”

He flinched again.

“Yes. Lilia said I would turn into seafoam. That I could never go back to being a mer again. Well... After you rejected me, I had no real reason to continue anymore. I didn’t really like being a human, and I was all alone there... So I thought seafoam was better than a human with a broken heart.”

Yuuri stared at him in mute shock and he felt himself flush. “It... I wasn’t very rational at that moment. I never expected you to turn me down because you had feelings for a merman.”

The other nodded slowly, drawing back. The spot where he’d touched Victor felt cold, suddenly.

“I didn’t know. That... Have you spoken to Lilia since you came here?”

Victor shook his head. “No. I didn’t feel like going to see her when I came back, and she hasn’t come here either.”

Yuuri nodded. “I... I saw my mom’s friend yesterday. The other sea witch I told you about? A-Apparently, she and Lilia go way back. I knew they knew each other, but apparently, they’ve known each other for longer than we’ve been alive.”

Victor could tell Yuuri was rambling a little – it was cute, but Yuuri still hadn’t given him a proper answer.

“Yuuri!” He half-snapped, relieved when he snapped out of it and turned to look at Victor again. “You haven’t answered yet. Will you.. stay? Do you want to try being together?”

The cecealia stared at him for what felt like an eternity, both of them unmoving.

“I’ll stay.” He eventually said, so softly Victor almost didn’t hear it.


	11. Chapter 11

Yuuri felt oddly relieved when he finally said what he’d come to tell Victor. That YES he would stay! He also wanted to tell him that he wanted to really be with him, but that was a little more difficult to say.

Well, he had time to work up to that.

He only snapped out of his thoughts when he realised that Victor was zooming around the cave, babbling about... packing?

“-can probably be out of here in just a few hours, so then you can-Yuuri?” the merman asked in visible confusion – Yuuri tried to make sense of what he was saying.

“You don’t have to leave. In fact, you shouldn’t. I can find somewhere else.” He said, not for the first time.

Victor pouted. “I told you I just took care of it for you! Or do you... Not want it?”

He cleared his throat. There was something he’d deliberately not mentioned to Victor, but the other man wasn’t giving him much choice.

“Victor... This, decorating a home, i-it’s one of the, uh, ways that... that my people propose. So, uh...”

Victor looked quite baffled, so he felt the need to explain. “W-We don’t live in big families like you. Just small families or individuals. And putting in all the work to prepare a space for both to live together, i-it’s how we show our determination to be a good partner. So... So I should really...”

He trailed off and watched with great interest as Victor blushed a lovely shade of pink that stretched all the way down his chest.

When the merman said nothing, Yuuri prompted him. “Victor?”

His tail flicked in the water once or twice, and he shook off his obvious stupor.

“I didn’t know about that. But... But you should still stay. I mean... I didn’t know what I was doing, but it was pretty much the same idea, right?”

Yuuri gaped. “Y-You...”

“Well... We propose with gifts. Hand-crafted jewellery. During courtship we bring each other food and such. So... so I guess we had that covered too.”

Victor swam closer again. “For the record Yuuri, if you would accept, I would be _honoured_ to share the cave with you. Like... Like that.” He gestured over his shoulder towards the bed, and it was Yuuri’s turn to blush.

Had anyone ever been _honoured_ by the idea of being with him? He’d hardly even found anyone he could stand for more than a few days at a time – romantically anyway.

He drifted a little closer to Victor and reached out, linking their fingers together, and finally leaning in even more, until their noses brushed.

“I-It’ll take some getting used to.” He mumbled.

Victor nodded.

“We might fight.”

Another nod.

“I-I’d still like to try.” He finally blurted out.

A moment later, Victor pulled his hands back and I stead used them to cradle his head before pulling him into a passionate kiss. His own hands settled on Victor’s hips with a small squeak as he returned the kiss.

Victor’s tail wrapped itself around his waist, and he deliberately held still his tentacles so he could wrap around him more easily.

Victor’s arms wrapped around his shoulders and he all but leaned on Yuuri – apparently, mermaids and cecealias kissed quite similarly.

He didn’t pull back at all, whining a little when Victor did, immediately missing his weight on him when the other pulled back.

“Sorry about that. I got carried away.” Victor admitted with a chuckle.

Yuuri grinned. “Please don’t ever apologise for kissing me like that.”

The merman blushed yet again – Yuuri was loving it.

“So... Where can I put my things? I don’t have a lot.” Yuuri said after a few moments of sappy staring.


	12. Chapter 12

Victor was grinning like a loon, his fingers running along the underside of one of Yuuri’s tentacles. The cecealia was asleep by his side, a few tentacles and his nose twitching as he slept.

It was adorable. His fingers trailed along the appendage. It was heavy and less flexible while Yuuri was out cold – normally, he knew, it was quite strong and dextrous.

He’d gotten well-acquainted with them over the first month of Yuuri’s stay with him – as it turned out, their species idea of spending the night together differed _greatly_ but turned out to be surprisingly compatible – or at least he thought so.

He’d never expected to actually _like_ tentacles, but now he could hardly stop thinking about it whenever Yuuri wrapped them around his body in his sleep.

He hummed softly and shifted a little, hugging the one he’d been playing with like a pillow, and got ready to go back to sleep too – when he heard someone calling him from the door.

He groaned in annoyance and squirmed away from Yuuri’s hold.

He didn’t know who it was – his hearing was nowhere near as good as Yuuri’s – but he already wasn’t pleased they disturbed him mid-cuddle.

Grumpily swimming over to the door, he prepared to give an earful to whoever it was, when the sight there froze him in his tracks. In front of the entrance were three cecealias he’d never met before – two women and a man. The man had dark blue tentacles, the women dark sand coloured and reddish ones.

What in the world did they want?

“Hello…?” He greeted, nervous about how they might respond to his presence. Just because Yuuri didn’t mind his being a merman didn’t mean these ones wouldn’t try to chase him away – did Yuuri know them?

“Hi! You must be Vicchan!” The older of the two women practically beamed.

“Uh, my name is Victor?” He corrected, relaxing a bit – they didn’t seem hostile. The one with the reddish tentacles snickered.

“Yeah, you’re Yuuri’s squeeze, right?” she asked.

“You know Yuuri?” He asked, a little relieved – he could deal with that.

“Know him? We’re his family! Mum, dad, and I’m his older sister. I’m Mari. Where is he? We figured he’d be here…”

The tension drained out of Victor immediately and he smiled. Yuuri’s family. Unexpected but not unwelcome.

“Ah, feel free to come in, Yuuri is asleep.”

He led them to the small dining area, where all three of them sat – there were only three chairs. He noticed that Yuuri’s dad especially seemed to study the contents of the cave carefully.

“This is quite different from when we were last here.” Yuuri’s mother said.

“I’ve been taking care of it, while Yuuri was… gone.” Victor said.

To his surprise, his mother gasped in obvious delight. “Really? Oh, what a lovely engagement present! You’re such a dedicated bride!”

He cleared his throat. “I… well… I know I’m not a cecealia, but I’m still male you know.”

Mari snickered. “We know that. But you know, for us, the one who prepares the shared home is the bride. It’s not about who’s a boy or a girl.”

“Oh.” He said dumbly.

“Don’t you worry! You’ve done a good job here.” Yuuri’s father chimed in, speaking for the first time. He was using one of his tentacles to tap against the furniture Victor had gotten. “Sturdy work. Nicely chosen too.”

“Thank you?”

“Dad is a carpenter. He makes all sorts of wooden stuff.” Mari explained, and suddenly Victor understood a little bit better.

He was still incredibly nervous, even though none of his three visitors were at all hostile or even unfriendly.

“Should I go wake Yuuri up…?”

Mari tilted her head a bit. “Don’t worry, he’s up already. I can hear him.”

Indeed, less than a second later, Yuuri shot over to them from the other side of the cave so quickly, Victor was a bit worried he might barrel straight into his family.

He just caught himself, an obvious flush on his face. “Mom! Dad! Mari! Why are you guys here?”

“Well, you keep telling us to come visit some time… so we thought, why not?” His mother chirped.

A hand settled low on Victor’s back – or rather, a tentacle, he realised a moment later when he saw that both of Yuuri’s arms were used for gesticulating while he bickered with his parents.

Victor didn’t really listen, he was too busy finally calming down properly – and just then, he noticed that Mari was looking at him. Studying him, actually. She motioned for him to come over, and he carefully swam around the table so he could talk to her directly.

“So you really spent a year waiting for him?” she asked.

Victor shrugged. “Yes? It didn’t seem like a lot after becoming human to meet him.” Yuuri had told him he’d told his family all about their… history, but Mari still looked shocked.

“I… he was serious about that? I mean, he said so but it all seemed a bit far-fetched, you know?”

He wrinkled his nose. “I… have been told that I can be a bit impulsive. Sometimes. And I don’t always think things through.” He admitted – almost verbatim what he’d heard from Yuri, Mila, Georgi, AND his parents after he’d gone to visit them upon his return.

Mari snickered. “Yeah, I can see that. You know, we consider mermaids to be quite… flighty. Not serious about… stuff.”

He opened his mouth to deny it but decided he really couldn’t. She had a point.

“We aren’t always… but I’ve been serious about him ever since I saw him.” He said honestly.

Mari ran a hand through her spiky hair. It looked nothing like Yuuri’s.

“Man, you’re too much. I don’t really get this whole ‘earnestly waiting around’ stuff you two have got going… but I guess Yuuri seems happy, so you can’t be so bad.”

“Uh… thank you?” He asked – he wasn’t entirely sure if her judgement was a positive one.

Just then, Yuuri wrapped himself around Victor from behind, his chin landing on Victor’s shoulder.

“Mari, don’t bully Victor.”

He relaxed into the touch readily.

“Pff, don’t worry, I think he can take it.” She said, entirely unbothered by his scolding.

Victor chuckled to himself and Yuuri tightened his grip a little.


	13. Chapter 13

“Are you sure we should?” Victor asked, not for the first time that morning.

He sighed and nodded. “She’s your friend, right? Well, you’ve met all my family and friends, and I’ve met most of yours. So all that’s left is Lilia, right?”

Victor whined. “But you KNOW her?”

Yuuri sighed – again. “Sure, but not as who she is to you. I’ve just met her as Minako’s friend, and even then, only for a second.”

“But what if she-”

Yuuri leaned in and silenced Victor with a kiss.

“None of that now. You get on great with my family, why wouldn’t I get along with Lilia?”

Victor cleared his throat. “Because she’s an old mean witch. Your family is lovely.”

“You just said that because my mother makes you sea cucumber steaks.” Yuuri said with a sigh – he’d been surprised when his mother had invited them over to cook for them – they didn’t really share a common diet, but his mother had surprised them all by cooking something for Victor as well.

“Was I that obvious?” The merman said cheekily, winking at Yuuri as he did so. He ignored the odd flutter in his chest that the gesture always evoked – he could swoon over Victor and how great he was with Yuuri’s family later.

“You still haven’t made up, right?”

“I don’t see what-”

He swam closer and imposingly leaned over Victor as best as he could. He knew the other wasn’t really intimidated by him, but it never failed to make him pout – not this time either.

Time for the finishing blow, Yuuri decided.

“Besides, don’t you want to know why she lied to you about the curse?”

He KNEW Victor did – and just like that, he and a sullen Victor were heading towards Lilia’s cave.

“You know that I know you do that on purpose, right?” Victor huffed after a few minutes of travel.

Yuuri chuckled. “You know I don’t care as long as it works, right?”

“So mean, my Yuuri!” Victor said in a tone that revealed he didn’t mind one bit – and Yuuri didn’t either. He bit down on the reply that wanted to escape him, as was often the case when Victor was, well, Victor.

They still hadn’t technically confessed their feelings towards each other – not in words anyway.

Yuuri had long since forgiven Victor of course, and he loved every minute of living with Victor – well except for when he spent hours caring for his tail, taking up half the living room – but he hadn’t had the courage to say it.

He wasn’t sure about Victor either – the merman had confessed first, but had his feelings changed? Yuuri was suspecting he would have to bring it up first… but his nerves got the best of him fairly often… plus, given how awful their first conversation about love went, he wanted to find the perfect moment as well.

Unfortunately, such a moment hadn’t exactly presented itself… yet.

He wasn’t about to give up hope just yet.

“This is it.” Victor said, nearly making Yuuri jump. He’d been swimming on autopilot – he hadn’t noticed they’d arrived. The cave entrance looked menacing enough – sea witches seemed to prefer it that way. Minako was no different, really, just a little less neat about it.

Victor swam in without so much as a call hello – Yuuri followed. Victor had braved his family, so surely, he could introduce himself to Lilia as Victor’s lover?

Right…?


	14. Chapter 14

Victor was doing his best to appear confident when he swam into Lilia’s cave. He wasn’t, but he didn’t need Yuuri to know that. He’d had more than one reason never to visit Lilia after regaining his tail – he felt betrayed by her lies.

More than anything, he’d seen her as a sort of cranky old mentor… and he’d never expected her to play such a cruel joke on him.

Not unexpectedly, the sea witch in question was sitting in a small alcove, in front of a cauldron. He didn’t even want to know what sort of curses she was making in there – he just paused a few feet away, Yuuri close by his side, waiting for her to look up.

He knew she knew he was there – she was just being dramatic.

Eventually, she sprinkled something into the cauldron, causing it to bubble brightly for a moment, before settling down. Then, she drew herself up to her full, spindly height, eel-tail angrily flicking in the water, stirring up some sand.

“Well look who finally decided to pay me a visit again.” She said mockingly, her arms crossed over her chest.

Victor straightened up. “You could have visited me too if you wanted to see me.”

She hissed. “Could have… and yet, I didn’t, because you didn’t want to see me.”

True enough. “Well, I’m here now.”

“Almost two years have passed, you know.” Lilia said – of _course_ he knew.

“I wasn’t ready.” He said.

Yuuri bumped against him lightly, to show support, no doubt. He appreciated it, wishing for a moment he had the kind of tentacles that Yuuri did, to be able to tangle them together.

“Don’t even THINK about it.” Lilia snapped, looking between his tail and Yuuri’s tentacles.

Not for the first time in his life, he was a little weirded out by how… perceptive she was.

“I’m not doing you any more favours.” She added a moment later.

Victor flicked his tail in annoyance.

“You didn’t exactly do me any favours last time. In fact, you lied to me. I… I want to know why.” He declared, meeting her gaze had on.

To his surprise… she smiled weakly.

“And what a load of good it did me. You want to know why I lied? Fine. Because I was hoping that telling you what I did would… deter you from your stupid idea.”

Yuuri next to him bristled. “Victor isn’t stupid. It… he just made a mistake.”

Lilia clicked her tongue. “Yes… and had he gone to any other sea witch, it WOULD have cost him his life. Changing what you are, for love? It’s foolish.”

He exchanged a look with Yuuri. That… well, she wasn’t wrong.

Yuuri took his hand. “It may not have been the easiest way, but it’s what we did.” The cecealia said.

“Mh, Minako updated me. She came by once, told me all about your escapades. Of course, so did Yuri, after he found you on the island. I’m the one who told him to leave you be.”

Surprisingly, Lilia seemed more amused than anything.

“You really lied just to deter me?” Victor asked.

Lilia sighed softly, relaxing a little – she suddenly looked quite a bit older. Normally, her angular face hid her age perfectly, but Victor abruptly realised that she had to be a fair bit older than him already.

“Not _just_ for that. I was… being petty. I had a lover once. He… he asked me for the same favour. Human legs, to see the world above. He said he would come back… but he never did. I wanted to spare your loved ones the same pain.” She said.

Victor was shocked into silence – it was the first thing the sea witch had EVER told him about her private life – and it was quite the thing to digest. He tightened his grip on Yuuri’s hand.

“We’re not like that, though. It… it worked out for us. I’m sorry it didn’t for you.” Yuuri spoke before he could even work out what to say.

Lilia nodded sharply. “It’s of no matter. It was a long time ago. I must admit I wasn’t entirely… fair to you, Victor. For that I’m sorry.”

He waved it off – he realised he’d forgiven her as soon as she mentioned her former lover.

“W-Why didn’t he come back?” Victor found himself asking.

The sea witch shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he met someone else, or simply liked being human. Yakov was a merman, and you know well how… spontaneously you often change your mind.”

Victor nodded softly until his mind caught on to another detail.

“D-Did you just say Yakov?”

“Yes?”

“There was a man named Yakov, on the island. I… he helped me when I first landed there. He gave me food, and clothes, and such. He… he lives alone in a cabin there.” Victor said, excitedly swimming closer to Lilia.

Her expression was one of bitter regret. “So… he’s still alive, at the very least? I didn’t expect… well, I certainly didn’t think you’d ever meet him.” She said, half-turning away.

Throwing all caution into the wind, Victor grabbed her by the arms and pulled her down to his eye-level.

“Lilia! You don’t understand!”

He ignored her squawk of protest, his tail flicking almost without his input, stirring up yet more sand.

“Yakov, he told me about himself! I kept badgering him until he told me that he was living there, waiting for his lover to come to him so he could be with her!”

Lilia visibly reared back at that, her tail briefly swishing forwards and catching on his fin. He ignored the painful shock the touch caused – she didn’t seem aware either.

“I… he… what?”

“Yes! He said he’s waiting for the woman he loves!”

“But… that can’t be me. It’s been decades.” She weakly fought, trying to pull away – he didn’t let go.

“No, it HAS to be! Who else could it be! He never even went to the village! He lives all alone up there, secluded. There’s no way it’s anyone else.”

Lilia finally pulled away properly, backing away from him. “Well… he has the same curse as you. He knows how it works. He could… he could have come back any time. Clearly, he DOESN’T want to be with me.”

Victor gave a pleading look to Yuuri – surely his more level-headed lover could help him?

Yuuri sighed and gently placed a hand on Lilia’s shoulder. She hardly reacted.

“I’ve not met him, but… if you’re still upset he left, why not go and see him? Maybe… maybe it’s just a misunderstanding? Like with me and Victor?” Yuuri said softly, in the same voice he used to convince Victor it was for the best if _he_ took care of cleaning up.

He’d never seen it used on anyone else – but it seemed to work because Lilia properly looked at Yuuri for the first time.

“It’s been so long… I’m not sure I still want to go.” She said – but even Victor could tell it wasn’t the truth.

Before he could open his mouth and say so though, Yuuri gave him a look. He backed away a bit.

“Not everything is a fairy-tale with a happy ending like yours.” Lilia said, giving Yuuri a withering look when he said nothing for a few moments.

“Maybe not, but… from what Victor said, he might still be waiting.”

“Maybe it’s not even the same Yakov.” She countered – but once again, even Victor could tell it was a weak argument. It fit too perfectly to be some kind of coincidence.

“Isn’t it worth checking. Or do your spells not work for sea witches…?” Yuuri asked – she immediately glared.

“Of COURSE they work. What sort of a sea witch do you take me for?” She snarked, though without much real bite behind it.

“So why not go out and see?” Yuuri asked, ignoring her tone entirely. Victor nearly swooned – somehow, Yuuri managed to be calming, reasonable, and _cool_ at the same time. Talking like that to a creature like a sea witch was quite brave.

“I’ve not left this cave since… well, since Yakov left.” Lilia admitted. Victor knew she preferred to be in her cave, but he’d never questioned why. Suddenly, he felt a little guilty. For all that he was a bit scared of her, he’d never really paid her much mind beyond their occasional interactions.

Was she lonely?

Had she felt even a little of what he’d felt when he’d prayed Yuuri would come to him on the island? He couldn’t imagine that for years, decades, even.

“I’m not some swooning maiden.” Lilia said – he flinched. It sounded like it was more aimed at him than at Yuuri, and he sighed… she was just too perceptive.

Quite suddenly, Lilia cleared her throat and swam backwards, putting a deliberate distance between herself and Yuuri and Victor. Her face was a little flushed too – had Yuuri succeeded in persuading her?

“I… I have plans for the day. Please leave.” She said, her voice clipped.

Yuuri wrapped an arm around Victor’s waist and pushed him gently towards the exit.

“Congratulations, Victor. I’m… happy for you.” Lilia said, just before he turned away.

He let his eyes fall closed – he was a bit surprised at how much her approval meant.

“Oh, and Yuuri?” Lilia called out, just when Victor thought their strange visit was over.

The cecealia froze mid-motion and turned back towards the sea witch. “Hm?”

“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Time is something precious.” She said, staring straight at him.

Victor glanced between the two in confusion for a few moments – until Yuuri nodded, grabbed his hand and practically pulled him out of the cave.

Well then.


	15. Chapter 15

Yuuri knew JUST where to take Victor.

It wasn’t a particularly… good spot, but as soon as Lilia had spoken, it had been all he’d been able to think about. So, he dragged his lover by the hand, more than strong enough to move them both, further and faster than Victor could have accomplished on his own.

Victor, meanwhile, held on to his wrist just as tightly, occasionally moving his tail to make it easier for Yuuri. He doubted the merman had any idea about where Yuuri was headed – just as well, he wanted it to be a surprise, after all.

He had no clue if Victor could tell where he was headed, or even what he was doing – he just appreciated how much faith the merman had in him.

His next move was a calculated risk – he quickly snapped around and swooped Victor up in his arms, holding him tightly to his chest before swimming the rest of the way up with all his strength.

It was a bit more of a struggle to get the necessary height than it was alone, but he nevertheless successfully catapulted them to the top of the edge of the cliff where he’d first met Victor in his human form.

He landed a bit hard and immediately arranged himself so that Victor’s more vulnerable form was splayed out and cushioned on some of his tentacles. The hard rock bothered him far less, he knew from experience.

“Yuuri…?” Victor asked, holding on to him, his voice a bit frail.

“This is-”

“Where I sang for you. To draw you in. I remember. Why did you bring me here?”

Yuuri hummed and pressed a kiss to Victor’s cheek.

“I just felt like it. Do you mind?”

“Mh, no. The sky looks beautiful today, doesn’t it?”

He sighed softly and looked up. His eyesight was much worse above the water, but he could appreciate the tones of blue and white and grey – it looked like a storm was drawing up.

Well, it was hardly perfect, but Lilia had a point in her comment.

He didn’t even question how exactly she’d known – sea witches were like that.

Yuuri wasn’t even sure if learning so much about Lilia’s tragic story had upset Victor too much, but… he was sick of waiting.

“I brought you here for a reason.” He said softly, his fingers combing through Victor’s hair.

“Oh? Not just the view?” Victor teased, obviously half-heartedly.

He chuckled. “No. Though I do have a nice view here.” He said, not looking at the sky at all.

Victor blushed prettily.

“I thought this would be a good place to give you a long-overdue answer.” He said, trying to work up the courage to just… say it already.

Victor snuggled closer to him.

“Answer to what? I haven’t asked you anything.”

Yuuri nodded. “True, but I meant… I just…”

He broke off and took a deep breath.

“I wanted to tell you that I love you. And I’m sorry it took me so long.”

He was actually proud of himself – his voice hadn’t wavered once… and the delight on Victor’s face was something he would remember for the rest of his life.

They stared at each other for a long moment, until the distant rumble of thunder made them both jump and chuckle.

“Oh, Yuuri… I love you too. I’m sorry that I confused things for us for so long.”

Yuuri wrinkled his nose. “Did you? I barely remember.”

Victor stuck his nose out at him, and to his surprise, Yuuri spotted a tear in the corner of the merman’s eye. He swiped it away, his heart clenching with the sheer volume of what he felt for the other.

The merman kissed his wrist.

“Did you bring me here to be romantic, Yuuri?” Victor teased.

He chuckled. “Sort of. I’d… been trying to find a good moment, you know? But nothing ever seemed good enough, and…”

Victor leaned closer. “I know what you mean. I thought about bringing it up too, but I was just too worried. I mean, for you, this whole thing was much more complicated than for me.”

He said nothing, just tightened his hold on Victor.

“Can I ask you for something?” Victor asked, his fingers trailing patterns on Yuuri’s arm.

“Anything.”

“Can we… can we just mark this as the beginning? Lilia said our ‘fairy-tale’ had a happy ending… and I want it to, but I’d rather this be the beginning than the end.”

Yuuri’s breath caught in his throat as he took in the full meaning of Victor’s words.

“Mh. I would like that. We’re only just starting our lives together. So what happened between us was…”

Victor chuckled. “The prologue? And now we write our story properly.”

Lightning flickered across the sky, followed by a wave of thunder that made the ground vibrate.

“Yes, I want that.” Yuuri confirmed. “And I have a suggestion on where to start? If you want to hear it.” He offered, a little flustered.

Victor tilted his head in curiosity.

“We could… get married. A big ceremony, your family, mine, our friends, everyone together.”

“Yuuri… it’ll be complete _mayhem_! We’ll have half the ocean there!” Victor said with a soft laugh.

“I know… but doesn’t it sound great? I want to show everyone that you’re with me now.”

“Yuuri… that sounds _perfect_.”

He leaned in to kiss the merman, just as another bolt of lightning shot across the sky.


End file.
